January
1, 2008
INCH Player of the Week
Presented by The
INCH Shop
Junior | Goaltender
Walworth, N.Y.
BILLY
SAUER
Michigan
His Statistics: 2 GP, 2-0-0, 87 saves,
2 shutouts
His Impact: In hindsight, it seems
so simple. All Michigan needed to do in order to capture
its first Great Lakes Invitational title since 1996
was shut out both of its opponents.
Sauer, the Wolverines' oft-maligned goaltender for
his inconsistent play during his first two campaigns
in Ann Arbor, capped a sensational first half of his
junior season by stopping all 87 shots he faced in wins
over Providence and Michigan Tech. Sauer's effort in
the double-overtime win over the Huskies in the GLI
championship game — he made 37 saves in a little
more than 82 minutes of work — seems pedestrian
compared to his performance against the Friars in the
tournament's first round. Michigan cruised to a 6-0
win, but Sauer was busy, stopping 50 shots.
The whitewashes were the second and third of the season
for Sauer, and the fourth and fifth of his career. He
ranks seventh nationally with a 1.80 goals against average
and his .930 save percentage is the 11th-best mark in
the country in that category.
His Runners-Up: Ian Dams/Adam Roy
(Holy Cross), Bud Fisher (Quinnipiac), Nathan Gerbe
(Boston College), Jonathan Maniff (UMass Lowell), Brock
Trotter (Denver), Jason Wiley (Minnesota State)
